Which Direction Is Our Game Heading?

As many of you know, the original pitch for World of Warcraft was an epic adventure where you would band together with your peers and defeat a common enemy, be it a huge dragon, or an opposing faction's army. This is the reason that a lot of players initially bought the game, but it's also one of the aspects of the game that seems to be disappearing.

Over the years, we've seen many changes take effect, some we liked, some we didn't like and some we were neutral on. I'm sure we can all agree that one of the main points of discussion among the community is regarding the nostalgic hold Vanilla WoW has on us all. Reminiscing about the time your raid leader blew up at you for not standing in the correct position while fighting Ragnaros, or finally downing Onyxia for the first time...it warms the heart.

Unfortunately, the game we all love seems to have taken a turn aimed at the casual gamer, people who don't have the same level of time to dedicate to raiding that the older content required. We no longer have forty man raids, content is easier, and some (including myself) would say we seem to be losing that sense of "real" accomplishment. Of course there are reasons for Blizzard's decision for doing this; they don't want to risk alienating the largest sector of the market, after all.

Personally, I believe that WoW needs to take us back to what we knew in Vanilla. I think Blizzard should reintroduce encounters that goal-oriented players can work towards over weeks and months, to allow them to feel the gratification that existed in times past. Obviously this won't be for everyone, and the casual gamer will still need attention, but I feel as if the game was made for players to face an epic, difficult-to-overcome challenge, and not a cake-walk that just anybody can walk into and perfect on day one.

It all boils down to the question of whether or not WoW is advancing in a direction that will alienate too many players who initially started playing for the challenge, or if the casual aspect being pushed upon is simply something coming naturally. Where do you stand? Are you in favour of advocating a true challenge, or do you prefer low-pressure, log-in and log-off gaming?

Comments

Comment by Peritus

on 2010/03/05 12:16:33

Personally, I'm in love with the way this game is headed. It's easily accessible, and brings high-fantasy heroics to anybody with a decent computer and $15 a month. I think some people forget that they do NOT own this game. There are writers who have spent the majority of their constructive talents on this universe, and I think that we are playing in the world they have created. It is a goal to deliver this story to as many people as can use a mouse and keyboard. Whether you're a rough-and-tumble PvPer, immersed in the prolonged arena-battles, a casual quester partaking in some accessible 5-mans, an active raider dedicating hours and hours a week with your guild, or just a RP-fan trying to live your dreams; this game has delivered what you want. It may not be exactly on the point with one person's opinions, but they try to make it as fun for as many people as they can.

GG, Blizz, see you in a few hours once I get out of school to casually crush some 5-man content. Well, either that or spend 3 hours farming a great piece of lore, not to sell, but to play through.

Comment by Bindar

on 2010/03/05 12:24:39

You can't go home again. :-) Even if you could, I wonder how many players still want to spend two or three months trying to reach and defeat the final boss in a dungeon (akin to the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj in 2006, flaws or no).

Also, it is hard to compare the experience of a new WoW player today to one five years ago. Joining WoW today plops you into a realm full of thousands of level-capped players. The new under-geared player can join with those older highly-geared players to defeat encounters which a group of under-geared players could not. Five years ago, everyone was under-geared (relatively speaking) so of course everything was harder.

What has surprised me is the gradual removal of attunements. The keying and attuning process was a major technique that the WoW designers had to slow down progression. I guess they don't want that now, perhaps largely because new content is made available faster than before -- which is a good thing!

Comment by Veight

on 2010/03/05 12:31:24

Overall in my opinion. They have made the game just too easy. You are able to be over geared for most content after a few days of easy heroic farming. I remember back in vanilla you had to farm for all of your tier 0 pieces and then spend an arm and a leg getting those upgraded to tier .5 gear so that you could help out in MC and in ZG better than others.

If blizzard slowed down progression a bit and extended the time it took for the #1 guild to clear through ICC or whatever newest content is, everyone might be happier. Make it so people have to really WORK to get everything they want or need in the game. Rather then handing everyone everything they need to clear through 80% of the content.

Comment by TheKnewl

on 2010/03/05 12:34:52

I started playing ever since right before BC came out. After BC was released, i explored its content and then thought of many other ways Blizzard would implement for future patches/expansions.

Vanilla seemed a fun content, the beginning of gaming, but there is always room for the new and different, not everyone wants to be stuck playing the same content over again, and this is what Blizzard is doing which is great, as it has always been.

All in all, New and Different is always good.

Comment by Peritus

on 2010/03/05 12:38:11

...If blizzard slowed down progression a bit and extended the time it took for the #1 guild to clear through ICC or whatever newest content is, everyone might be happier...

^This^ I was DISGUSTED when LK got killed on THE VERY FIRST DAY he came out. One would think blizz would have at least made him a wipe-fest like Algalon-the-raid-destroyer. Killing such a big-bad should have taken far more planning. The fight should have gone on for an hour; something that would keep you at the edge of your seat. I agree that the nerfing of content is pitiful. But making content accessible via gear is VERY important to sustain the lifeblood of this game.

Veight, all of the pretty epics are not just for dedicated raiders and dedicated raiders alone. There are facets to this game, each gleaming in its own way. (This includes getting geared thru spamming reg ToC 30 times)

Comment by KzanolNS

on 2010/03/05 12:41:04

I have mixed feelings about the way the game is heading.

I have discovered WoW not so long ago, only May last year. I was never interested in group-play, the MMORPG character of the game is appealing to me mostly for social reasons. I never intended to raid (or even to do dungeons, initially), because of the amount of dedicated time it requires (I never wanted the game to became an obligation, like in case of raid guilds, where in most cases you are obliged to be present for raids several times a week, for several hours).

Therefore, the game appealed to me, because I was able to play mostly solo, and interact socially with people I know and those I have met in-game. I focused on questing (and did Loremaster as my first major achievement, almost at the same time I dinged 80, unlike most who do it only after leveling to 80). Then I focused on grinding various reputations, and finally on leveling alts (currently I have 10 chars on my realm, all of them level 50 or above, two of them at 80).

So to sum it all up, the casual-player approach does appeal to me, and I am looking forward to more game content, which is focused on a casual, solo player. And I see that Blizzard is introducing some (although I would definitely to prefer seeing more of it).

The downside of the approach is the fact, that Blizzard is not enforcing their own policies (especially in case of RP realms, where there are no simple mechanisms to report non-RP behavior, not even names, and non-RP behavior is common and not even regarded as "noob"), and the fact, that more and more immature players (and I am not referring to the age) are joining in.

I have heard opinions (unfortunately I never experienced it personally), that in the times of the classic content, most players were mature (and again, I am not referring to the age, but to the approach and behavior). The ease of the game now no longer drives "kids" away from the game, as it did earlier. And one thing I would like to see changing is this, but I have no hopes, since it's clear, that Blizzard makes money on numbers, so they're making the game appealing to the largest possible crowds (the RP realms could however be treated differently at least, as a kind of an option for more mature players, unlike now, where RP stands for absolutely nothing, since the playstyle on a RP realm does not differ at all from the playstyle on a normal realm).

To sum it all up, I'm for the casual-player content, but also against the lack of control and rule enforcement.

Comment by Thundurmaul

on 2010/03/05 12:43:47

Do you do hardmodes? Link your TOC Hardmode achieves, and link your Icecrown full clears.

Otherwise, you really aren't as hardcore as you think you are.

Let everyone experience the game they pay for.

Comment by TheAshenVerdict

on 2010/03/05 12:44:23

A better question for you:

Which direction is our Wowhead heading?

Can't wait for more blogs that complain about casuals. Can't wait for more blogs that will complain about 10 man easy modes, and fail to acknowledge the 25 man hard modes.

If the game was easy, then you would have killed The Lich King on 25M Heroic already. If there were another 11,000,000 people who are willing to raid for 12 hours in a row every other day then Blizzard would continue to market massive 40 man raids that can be wiped because one person stands slightly more to the left then they should have. But there aren't, and they don't.

Comment by Belruel

on 2010/03/05 12:44:31

I have been playing since the beginning, and personally I love where the game is headed. I hated raiding MC with 39 people, rolling for loot against 18 other people, IF it even dropped. The game is being refined, streamlined and made better. It is so awesome that everyone can see content now, not just the people who can spend 30 hours a week playing, a good chunk of that raiding. My poor boyfriend never got to down ragnaros with me because he had to work. He never got to see AQ in any form other than some trash on the 20 man. Now we can raid ICC once a week, we saw chunks of ulduar and all that good stuff.

It feels good man. Even those of us who like to do things other than WoW in all of our free time can get some gear with badges. This also helps cut down on the seriously awful elitism that was rampant for so much of vanilla. Now I can go into AV and work on getting pvp gear without being STOMPED by a raiding guild's main tank. Speaking of AV, it is now possible to get into one without waiting hours and hours, and to even finish the one you join! What novelty!

So yes, while we all have some golden memories of the olden days, I would not want WoW to bring them back in any form.

Comment by BobTHJ

on 2010/03/05 12:44:55

Blizz has definitely moved in the right direction. The game is now accessible to all players, not just hard-core raiders who can devote every evening of the week to progressing. Hard-core folks still have goals they can work toward - it's called achievements.

Comment by Skosiris

on 2010/03/05 12:45:40

Interesting editorial!

I personally like the way the game is now. It's actually better than how it used to be. Sure, I do miss Elwynn Forest feeling huge and the fun I had collecting grapes for Milly (questing was the main thing in Vanilla WoW for me), but I'm not letting nostalgia dictate how I should feel about the state of the game today.

They're not dumbing down the game for casuals, they're only making it possible for more people to enjoy the content. Remember when people were complaining they couldn't set foot in the Black Temple? This is Blizzard's response. There are Heroic modes if you're up for something "less casual".

Before one is able to kill the Lich King on Heroic 25 mode, they can't really complain the game caters to casuals. And even then, it's not like a significant % of the player base was able to do the same.

Comment by lokibrth

on 2010/03/05 12:47:12

QQ more? I'm one of those casuals that make up the majority market. I love the game and I hope Blizz continues along their current path.

ICC 25 mans are still hard. The <1% of guilds that have cleared it can attest to that. The game is still hard, it just requires less grinding.

Comment by Shait

on 2010/03/05 12:50:00

I never got to see Vanilla Naxx. Never got to see Vanilla AQ 40. We did not have a 25 man team, so we never got to see anything other than a PuG Maggy and Gruul in BC.

I am now a raid leader for a 10 man progression guild that is working on ICC. We have killed Yogg, Kel, Nub'rick. We would never have had that opportunity before now.

Keep the game going the way it is so that people can see the content you so lovingly design.

*thumbs up*

Comment by TheAshenVerdict

on 2010/03/05 12:50:15

QQ more? I'm one of those casuals that make up the majority market. I love the game and I hope Blizz continues along their current path.

HM ICC 25 mans are still hard. The <1% of guilds that have cleared it can attest to that. The game is still hard, it just requires less grinding.

I'm 99% sure The Lich King remains undefeated in 25M HM. Which helps your point. But I agree with you.

Comment by Falithvel

on 2010/03/05 12:56:56

Do you do hardmodes? Link your TOC Hardmode achieves, and link your Icecrown full clears.

Otherwise, you really aren't as hardcore as you think you are.

Let everyone experience the game they pay for.

My problem is the hardmodes are just the same as reg, but with more health/dmg; and maybe one more attack...

Comment by Aazaroth

on 2010/03/05 12:57:13

QQ more? I'm one of those casuals that make up the majority market. I love the game and I hope Blizz continues along their current path.

HM ICC 25 mans are still hard. The <1% of guilds that have cleared it can attest to that. The game is still hard, it just requires less grinding.

I'm 99% 100% sure The Lich King remains undefeated in 25M HM. Which helps your point. But I agree with you.

It was just defeated on 10, by Paragon

Comment by lorebain

on 2010/03/05 12:59:46

This is just another QQ about the game becoming "too easy".

Get over yourself.

Comment by SirPunky

on 2010/03/05 13:06:13

Personally, I believe that WoW needs to take us back to what we knew in Vanilla. I think Blizzard should reintroduce encounters that goal-oriented players can work towards over weeks and months, to allow them to feel the gratification that existed in times past.

I want to PLAY not work.

Comment by Thundurmaul

on 2010/03/05 13:10:30

My problem is the hardmodes are just the same as reg, but with more health/dmg; and maybe one more attack...

Oh, you mean everyone gets to experience the content that they paid for? Good heavens, what a bad game design!

Comment by Haeleos

on 2010/03/05 13:11:55

Learn 2 hardmode?

The game isn't easier, it's more accesible for people that don't play seriously/don't have the time/some other excuse. Y'know, so we're allowed to have a life while we play? That's nice.

Sorry that you can't lag out/D.C. with 39 other players in a scripted boss battle anymore, but the challenge is still there for the hardcore folks. Just gotta turn it on.

10 man lich king =/= heroic mode 25 man. You even get better loot for heroic, so you're still a special snowflake compared to everyone else who can get full t9 with enough heroics. Who would have thought?

I love how the game is now. =D

Edit: Okay...leveling is easier. But with nearing 5 80's now, having a choice to do whatever role I feel like for the day is nifty. IMO, anyway.